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10 wacky Vegas weather events from May

10 wacky Vegas weather events from May

The La Costa Grill sign was damaged by a dust devil that hit speeds of up to 60 mph on May 7, 2012. (National Weather Service/Facebook)

By STEPHANIE GRIMESREVIEWJOURNAL.COM

You’re not alone if you’ve been feeling like the weather needs to make up its mind this month. Between 20-degree temperature swings from day to day and wind that alternates between arctic temperatures and blowdryer heat, we’re actually looking forward to summer.

The National Weather Service noticed May is usually a weird weather month as well, and noted some of the more interesting weather events that have happened in May (dates courtesy NWS):

May 2, 1947: We hit 107, setting a daily record and marking the earliest 105-degree day in the city.

May 7, 2012: Three well-developed dust devils caused moderate damage in the valley. The rare dust devils had wind speeds of up to 60 mph. A restaurant was damaged at Flamingo and Eastern, and trees were uprooted at Sunset and Valle Verde. There were no reports of injuries.

May 8, 1979: It reached 60 degrees in Las Vegas, the coldest temperature ever recorded in May.

May 9, 1977: 0.15 inches of rain fell. Rain in May isn’t normally notable, but this is the only time rain has ever been recorded in Las Vegas on May 9.

May 14, 1993: Two people were struck by lightning in Henderson. There have been seven deaths from lightning strikes in Nevada since 1959.

May 16, 1987: Las Vegas saw its greatest one-day total of rain to fall in May: 0.83 inches. Average rainfall in Las Vegas for the entire month of May is 0.12 inches.